As the years pass, glass is used more and more in both construction and in interior design. People want more light in the spaces they occupy. Glass has also become a decorating statement. Contemporary styles are filled with glass tables, enclosures, etc. Due to the increasing use of glass as a building material in other than standard window applications, there has been a call for new and improved ways of attaching to glass elements.
The standard method for installing glass is to provide a full frame around the edge of a glass sheet. Then any attachment is made to the framing material instead of to the glass itself. This makes attachment easy, but it requires that all the edges of the glass are covered. This style is quite appropriate for a window which is surrounded by wall anyway. However, in other applications where you have a glass enclosure, you may not want to have frames around each piece of glass. This would break the unobstructed wall of glass into sections interfering with the desired visual effect.
Other methods of attaching to glass require that holes or cut-outs be made in the sheet of glass. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,798 to Burke et al. which teaches a glass hinge assembly. There is a clamping mechanism for attaching to a sheet of glass. The glass sheet is notched to receive a block which holds two clamping plates around the sheet of glass. A pin which the glass sheet rotates around is located within the block. This hinge assemble is attached to a fixed second assembly. There is a gap between the hinge assemble and the fixed assembly. This gap would make this hinge inappropriate for use where water could be sprayed against it, since there is no barrier to protect one side from water that may be located on the other side.
There are also other attachment methods which require that the glass be modified. Since glass can be very difficult to work with because of its fragile and brittle nature, it is far more advantageous to find a way to attach to the glass without requiring any modification to the glass itself.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,914,888 to Hanson discloses a support for a glass panel. This is a strip of material which is used on the top and bottom of a sheet of glass to secure the glass to the ceiling and floor. There is a clamping mechanism for frictionally engaging a sheet of glass. In the preferred embodiment, the device is H-shaped with the bridge of the H having a narrowed portion which allows for rotation of the sides. The sides of the H have ribs which when pressed together engage a sheet of glass. This device is intended for a rigid attachment and has no provision for a hinge or any way to rotate the glass sheet.